mine started when I bought an 80's cd in a music store in 2005 and on the cover was what I now know as the sharp vz 2000. I was completely mesmorized by it and went everywhere looking for an 80's box until I finally found my first love in a second hand shop just a mile down the road from where I lived. it was the Philips d8614 sound machine, I bought her fully working and in excellent condition for £15 it's been my personal grail ever since and the rest is history

I know what your saying here Jason I thought I was going mad at one point.

I haven't picked anything up of late and I gotta say as much as I still love them I don't have the spark I had some years back. the buzz isn't the same as it was back then but I never get bored of looking at them or playing them. I think if you like music then boxes will always be a part of your life one way or another, their just too cool for me to throw the towel in completely

I actually started back in 2004 when i lived in orange county i spotted a sharp gf777 for $40.00 and remembered owning one when i was a teen...well i snatched it up fixed the decks and just recently changed out the woofers..since then i have been buying the radios i actually remembed owning or friends having...i am now the proud owner of 39 ..i love the beauty put in to them and the sounds that they produce.they are quality as well as some of our history..i take pride in owning the ones in my possesion and i admire the one you guys post as well...its good to know that others share my interest because my wife thinks im nuts for having so many..my actual first one was the jvc m70 which i still do not have. i say to myself once i purchase it my seach is over..( what a lie that is, i just cant help it)..i have however slowed down a little..but its a great hobby and i enjoy chosing which one to jam when i get my drink on....so lets pump up the volumes and let the beats flow from the Ghettoblasters...

found this at the local dump a few years ago (Minty with decal stickers) and had to take it home!

Booboxes of this era are art, things of beauty, the build quality, the loud sound, the weight of them, the variety of makers and models, I love it all!
Then found out later you could play your mp3s throught them and suddenly one wasn't enough anymore!

And Jason, it does become an obsession! I've been made to "swear on my dogs life" by my wife (she knows what I hold dear in life) not to buy, build or trade any more boxes for a very long long long time!!

The First Boom Box I Brought was in the Summer of 82. It was a Hitachi TRK-8290. I was Seventeen. About a year ago i saw a car with a Bumper Sticker that Said. I'm From the Eighties. and it had a pic on it with a Kid with a Boom Box on His Shoulders. I thought can I get the Boomer I had when I was a Kid, I hit up eBay and BOOM!!!! their it was. Fully Working and Clean. And Now 12 Boomers Later.

My first was a Sears 2100 exactly as pictured. An awesome present from my sister on my 5th, yes 5TH!! birthday. I told her I wanted a boombox like hers but smaller so I could carry it. I still remember my heart jumping out of my chest when I opened it and I had it for 14 good years until it fell down a flight of stairs and broke completely I also had a purple Sharp QT50 that I later thought looked too girly girl when I went in my depressed teenage grunge phase, so I sold it for 20 bucks just to score a bag of weed at the time . 

I had a couple crappy 90's CD player models after that.  I thought they were cool at the time but I still missed the 80's types. I'm a noob collector as I only have a TDK 3 spkr which doesn't really come close to vintage ..and of course my sharp wq272. I keep having this recurring dream that I own a minty Sanyo M7830. I have the fullest intention on finding one in a good nick someday.

Great stories here!

My fascination started when I was about ten. All the older kids in the neighbourhood had big boomers, belting out the tunes and I had nothing....until Christmas. I begged my mom (a single parent) for a big JVC or PIONEER box but she just didn't have the $$.

On Christmas morning I opened up a present and in it was a Candle boombox (no quality whatsoever but it played tapes) I used that box everywhere I went and spent all my money on D cells.

As I entered my upper teen years and was working I bought my JVC PC 550 and put the Candle away...

After marriage the DIY projects came up and I was re-united with my Candle (I didn't want paint specs on my 550)

I still have that box and yes...it is my favourite. It eats tapes, the antenna won't stay still and the FM tuning requires the hand of a steady surgeon...but she's still number 1

My first box, was an aiwa tpr990, which my best friend got for his 15th birthday in 79. I aquired it, around 88/89, by which time, it had become a wreck.

my first one was an hitachi trk 3d8e,ten pounds.....just saw it in a charity shop 6 years ago and fell in love with it....never looked back since,it started slowly but sound steamrolled into fully fleged collecting....never looked back for the last 6 years

still cant forget the vz2000 i spotted on the dump 2 years back smeats1976.....did i get it?did i hell.....was told to p'ss off unless i wanted the 5-0 on my back,so i flipped the guy the bird,uttered some profanities back at him and bid a hasty retreat

That sucks man. You should have told that guy exactly what you were after and that it was extremely wasteful just to toss it. Makes me sick that people actually throw these beautiful, repairable pieces of history away they'll just get smashed up and dumped in some landfill

Obsolescence is just an illusion to me.

what a jobsworth tw*t! enough to drive you mental!

My find will never be repeated as all small electrics now go down a chute that has a 20 foot drop at the end! rage!!!

I was a bboy straight out of high school (around 2004) and starting wanting a boombox so bad. After looking everywhere and having no money I found out my grampa bought an AIWA TPR975 new back in the day and kept it in his livingroom and never used it. Ever since I held that thing in my hand and blasted some 80's electro out of it I was hooked.

great story Jay but i'm not sure Aiwa tpr975 existed?? do you mean 955

My first portable radio with a cassette player was a YORX K3688.
The year ... 1980.
You can't even find a picture of that little mini, but considering the
maker it actually sounded pretty good and lasted me 2 years of
extremely heavy use before it was accidentally lost. I did however

being 15yrs old, draw a picture of it. here it is .... lol
I'd love to find one again ... probability of finding one though is
about the same as growing a second head.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8018/1c2s.jpg

After that loss, My Father took pity on me and bought me a
Panasonic RX-C100 ... I never looked back. I Still have that radio,
and its been to hell and back not mention about a 100 or so parties
over the years. Still works and I recently found a another one.

Great story Bill!

You never forget your first